Following Wednesday’s announcement, Heathrow said in a statement: “This is fantastic news for Heathrow passengers.

“A good border experience is a great way to show the UK is open for business and we encourage the Government to continue to prioritise it.”

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Hammond said: “We will allow citizens of the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Singapore and South Korea to use e-gates at our airports and Eurostar terminals, alongside the EEA nationals who can already use them.”

‘Significantly worse’

Scrapping the need for paper landing cards is designed to remove a layer of bureaucracy.

Last year, in response to proposals for “UK-only” lines after Brexit, the boss of British Airways, Alex Cruz, wrote to the Times criticising long queues at Heathrow.

Mr Cruz said queues at Heathrow were “significantly worse” than other major hubs across the world.

He said that although the target wait for non-EEA travellers coming into Heathrow was 45 minutes, two hours was “fast becoming the norm”.

Mr Cruz added: “What kind of message does this send as we try to build links outside the EU?”

At the time, the Home Office said most of those arriving at Heathrow passed border control within agreed time limits.

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